CITY COUNCIL February 9, 2011
ORDERED, That the Commissioner of Transportation is hereby authorized and directed to give consideration to erect and maintain appropriate signs giving notice of NO PARKING -Tow Zone, except Wednesday 7:00pm-9:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 7:00am-9:00pm on W. Logan Boulevard (outer lane of main boulevard main boulevard roadway), south side, from N. Maplewood Avenue to N. Campbell Avenue.
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City of Chicago Richard M. Daley, Mayor
Department of Transportation
30 North LaSalle Street Suite 1100
Chicago, Illinois 60602-2570 (312) 744-3600 (312) 744-7215 (TTY)
Anal.
BUILDING CHICAGO TOGETHER
November 4, 2010
The Honorable Rey Colon Alderman, 35th Ward 2710 N. Sawyer Ave. Chicago, IL 60647
RE: Modified Boulevard Parking Ordinances
Dear Alderman Colon:
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) has received your request to modify the existing parking ordinances on several segments of Logan, Kedzie, and Humboldt Boulevards to allow parking during church activities. CDOT understands this request stems from several church communities' concerns regarding parking citations issued during church hours. The specific street segments are as follows:
2450-3000 W Logan Blvd.
2300-2600 N Kedzie Blvd.
1900-2200 N Humboldt Blvd.
Logan, Kedzie, and Humboldt Boulevards are all four-lane minor arterial roadways with parking currently prohibited on all segments. These roadways have an accompanying service drive in both directions, typically wide enough for one travel lane and one lane of residential permit parking. CDOT understands that this request is to allow on-street parking on the outer lane of the main boulevard roadways during church activities.
a site visit during the evening peak hour on Thursdav,
nd and 3r'd.
CDOT conducted
September 16th, and at noon on Saturday and Sunday, October 2
Some church-goers already park (illegally) on the aforementioned road segments, and drivers seemed accustomed to the parked vehicles. Traffic volumes were moderate during the field observations. In some instances, small bottlenecks were created where drivers encountered a parked vehicle and were required to merge into a single travel lane. These bottlenecks quickly dissipated and traffic flow returned to normal.
Based on our observations that show that traffic operates in a safe and organized manner with church parishioners currently parking on the boulevards, CDOT would support amending the existing parking ordinances to allow parking during certain hours of the week on particular segments of the boulevard roadways. It is recommended that your office amend the existing ordinances to read the following:
RMS #27,681
Page 2 - Modified Boulevard Parking Ordinances
Logan Boulevard
"No Parking - Tow Zone, except Wednesday 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, W. Logan Boulevard (outer lane of main boulevard roadway), north and south sides, from a point 80 feet east of N. Sacramento Avenue to a point 80 feet west of N. California Avenue, from a point 80 feet east of N. California Avenue to N. Maplewood Avenue."
"No Parking - Tow Zone, except Wednesday 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, W. Logan Boulevard (outer lane of main boulevard roadway), south side, from N. Maplewood Avenue to N. Campbell Avenue."
Kedzie Boulevard
'Wo Parking - Tow Zone, except Thursday and Friday 7:00 PM- 11:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 7:00 AM - 11:00 PM, N. Kedzie Boulevard (outer lane of main boulevard roadway), east and west sides, from W. Linden Place to a point 20 feet north of the mid-block crosswalk north of W. Altgeld Street (W. Albany Avenue), from W. Altgeld Street (W. Albany Avenue) to a point 80 feet north of W. Fullerton Avenue, and from a point 80 feet south of W. Fullerton Avenue to W. Belden Avenue."
Humboldt Boulevard
'Wo Parking - Tow Zone, except Monday thru Saturday 7:00 PM- 11:00 PM, Sunday 7:00 AM - 11:00 PM, N. Humboldt Boulevard (outer lane of main boulevard roadway), east and west sides, from a point 120 feet south of W. Shakespeare Avenue (IV. Palmer Street) to a point 90 feet north of W. Armitage Avenue, and from a point 90 feet south of W. Armitage Avenue to a point 120 feet north of W. Cortland Street."
It should be noted that CDOT does not support permitting parking on the north side of Logan Boulevard, between Maplewood Avenue and Campbell Avenue. Given the curved nature of Logan Boulevard just east of this segment, allowing parked vehicles immediately following the curve could present a potential safety hazard if westbound drivers are not expecting any parked vehicles.
Additionally, CDOT does not support permitting parking on weekdays between the typical peak hours of 7:00-9:00 AM and 4:00-7:00 PM due to traffic congestion and driver expectations. The original request included parking permitted during these hours; therefore, parking shall not be allowed before 7:00 PM on a weekday.
CDOT recommends installing "No Parking" corner clearance signs at all unsignalized locations of boulevard roadways in the study area to improve intersection sight distance. A signage plan will be sent to the Division of Signs under a separate cover to be installed pending passage of the aforementioned ordinances.
RMS #27,681
Page 3 - Modified Boulevard Parking Ordinances
If you have any questions regarding these recommendations, please contact Luann Hamilton at 312-744-1987.
Luann Hamilton, Deputy Commissioner Division of Project Development
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CC: Roberto Maldonado - Alderman, 26th Ward
J. Bills, R. McDarrah, F. Hooker, G. Black, K. McCarthy, M. Samadi, B. Roberts - CDOT
RMS #27,681
Originated by: